


Threads

by WARendfeld



Series: Transformers: Armada (Revisited) [17]
Category: Transformers (Unicron Trilogy)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 10:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25469194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WARendfeld/pseuds/WARendfeld
Summary: As the Autobots accelerate their efforts on Earth, they uncover more than a few mysteries.
Series: Transformers: Armada (Revisited) [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/406828
Kudos: 2





	Threads

Threads  
A Transformers: Armada Story  
By William Rendfeld

Dawn quietly broke out over the Boring Lava Fields as the sun’s rays gently shone over the ground below and cascaded over the Autobot ship. As he walked the _Ark_ ’s corridors, Optimus couldn’t help but think of this as the metaphorical quiet before the storm, and couldn’t help but hope that such thoughts were just paranoia going through his processors. He stepped into the ship’s forward bridge, and found to his surprise that he wasn’t the only one to occupy it. “Hot Shot. I’m surprised to see you in here. Is something bothering you?”

The much younger Autobot turned to his commander nervously. “Sort of. I appreciate this, me being selected to lead Team Two and all, but…”

“But you don’t think you’re ready for it.” The Autobot leader wasn’t surprised by his subordinate’s nod. “Would it surprise you to learn that I felt the same way a long time ago? Less than ten kliks after coming online, I found myself being given the Matrix of Leadership and entrusted with leading my people into war. I have no idea why I was the one chosen, and Vector Prime’s never been too eager to give me the answer. Sparkplug feels the same way more often than not, and I know that most real leaders feel the same.” He stepped forward and looked the younger mech in the optic. “I chose you for this because I felt you were ready, especially now that your issues with Wheeljack have been resolved. You aren’t the same mech who came into my office all those stellar cycles ago, expecting to be tossed out, and you have the potential to be an able leader. What you need is the chance to prove yourself, and some confidence.” 

“It doesn’t hurt that Scavenger and Landmine are helping to build our new base facility either, does it?” All too aware that he was effectively stuck in his current assignment, Hot Shot straightened up and asked, “Well, can you offer any suggestions to a fledgling commander?” 

“Only what you already know, that nothing is more important than the mechs under your command. You’ll be going out there to retrieve Mini-Cons, but we can’t afford to lose a single member of the team, Autobot or Mini-Con, and it’s up to each of you to look after one another until the mission is done. Retrieve them, watch your afts, and come back in one piece.” Beckoning back towards the hatch, he noted, “Now, I think you’d better gather your team. You have a lot of work to do, and the sooner you get started, the better.” Hot Shot nodded, gave a short salute, and then began to make his way out before he was interrupted. “Also, Hot Shot?” He turned back as Optimus finished. “Part of being a leader is putting people where they can do the most good. Where you’re going, Scavenger and Landmine would stick out like loose diodes. Your team will have a much easier time keeping a low profile. You’ll do fine.” 

Somewhat encouraged by this, Hot Shot nodded and smiled as he delivered his vow. “Thanks, Optimus. I won’t let you down.” 

-

Starscream was not happy. Saying such a thing was hardly a profound statement, of course. The red and grey Seeker found little reason to be pleased over things, especially given his current situation. Between keeping Megatron in the dark concerning his overall plans and preparing his forces for the inevitable defeat of the tyrant, he found himself supremely occupied. Though clearly, he’d been a little too occupied. Otherwise, this would not have passed him by. 

“Screamer?” The grim expression obvious on his partner’s face, Swindle nonetheless found himself unable to not ask his partner what was going on. “There a joint too tight in your spinal column or what?”

“If only.” He tilted the screen slightly so that the Mini-Con would have a better view. “Take a look at these inventory listings. Small bits of equipment, spare parts, and assorted other odds and ends have gone missing from the cargo hold. Aside from that, we’re low on Energon. Between our rationing and the solar arrays I’ve constructed, we should have significantly more than we currently do. All of these parts, all of that Energon, have to be going somewhere.”

“So? Starships need maintenance, don’t they?”

“Yes, but why would we need to repair things like the orbital jump units or the communications systems? The ship itself hasn’t taken any damage since leaving Cybertron, and systems don’t break down this much. And even considering the use of the CR Chambers, we shouldn’t be expending that much Energon. It has to be going somewhere.” 

Red optics cast themselves towards the Mini-Con, who simply threw up his arms in protest. “Hey, come on! Why would I be hording parts or Energon? I’ve got no one to sell ‘em to, for one thing!” 

“Exactly why you’re the last suspect on the list. You wouldn’t do a thing unless I knew about it.” Starscream turned back to the monitor, thoughtfully stroking his chin. “Still, I need to get to the bottom of this before it becomes a serious problem. Megatron already knows what’s going on, and if I don’t figure this out quickly, we could all be in jeopardy.”

-

“This is it, gentlemen. Longs Peak.” A small group of gathered Autobots and Mini-Cons were arrayed behind him as Colonel Franklin looked up at the impressive mountain, visible from many points throughout Rocky Mountain National Park. “We’re fortunate the climbing season’s over, otherwise we’d have some serious problems. Still, I’ve made arrangements for the park to be closed to the public until construction is finished.” 

Standing at over fourteen thousand feet, Longs Peak was an impressive spectacle, and the gathered Cybertronians had little reason to doubt that people would be impressed with its beauty. They were slightly more surprised by the human desire to climb it, particularly considering the number of people to die attempting the ascent, but kept this to themselves. There were more than a few thrill-seekers on Cybertron, after all, and Earth was little different. Still, they suspected that there would be trouble down the road, and Ironhide silently hoped that he’d be able to avoid harming the landscape as a result of his work. 

“Thank you, colonel, we appreciate it. The less attention we have, the less chance of someone getting hurt, or our secret getting out.” Snapping the others out of their reverie, Scavenger turned to the young architect. “Now, Ironhide, if you’ll be kind enough to get us started?”

“Oh, right!” Not at all pleased by the daunting task ahead of him, the young Autobot held aloft a device from his hand and activated it, and a holographic projection swiftly took form. “To start with, we’re going to need to dig the central access tunnel. Once that’s done and supports are up, we can begin excavation on the base’s interior.” The hologram shifted to show a basic cylindrical design, with disk-like areas top and bottom, a ring towards the bottom connected to the base by four long hallways, a thick protrusion in the middle, and a second smaller ring near the top. “Towards the top will be the communications array and the command center. Further down will be the central entrance and exit points, the power core, medical facilities, staff quarters, and data processing. We’re going to need a minimum of four exits for rapid deployment – three for fliers, one for ground-based units – and a few easy access points. I’ve also included a few living areas for humans and Mini-Cons in the middle ring.”

“Not a bad design.” Decidedly leaner outside of his armor, Landmine gave an approving nod even as he continued surveying the area. “My only question is where we’re going to get the materials for all this. The Ark has enough spare parts for the reactor and the computer equipment, but we’re still going to need support systems and such.”

The colonel gave a small, confident smile. “Leave that to me when the materials are needed. If there’s one thing the government’s good at, it’s getting help from the private sector.”

Hoist laughed. “Perfect. Now all we need to do is get the ball rolling. Where do we start?”

Optics landing on him, Ironhide started going over the local geological data in his processor, trying to figure out the ideal point to start base construction. 

“Just a crazy suggestion, but it might be a good idea if we keep the base below ground as much as possible, and that we make our primary tunnel some distance away.” Pointing towards a barren valley area, Dune Runner suggested, “I noticed a canyon out in that area. There’s sparse vegetation there, and little sign of human activity. Might be a good place to start.” 

Both grateful for the suggestion and lacking a counter-argument, Ironhide shrugged and shut off his holo-projector. “Then we start there.”

The old bulldozer nodded and transformed. The others followed, and the colonel climbed into Ironhide’s passenger compartment before the group set out. They made their way along winding roads towards the edge of the park, and soon found themselves in a rough-hewn canyon. The Adventure Team slowed to a halt, which prompted the rest to do the same as the lime green dune buggy among them shifted to robot mode and surveyed the surrounding area. “Perfect.” The larger Cybertronians waited for the colonel to disembark from Ironhide before returning to their robot modes as Dune Runner declared, “This is right where we want to be.”

Scavenger turned to Ironhide, who swiftly reviewed local geological data and re-examined his schematics before he nodded in agreement. Satisfied, he ordered, “Alright Autobots, let’s go to work!”

-

_:“We’ve just gotten word from Ironhide, Optimus! Excavation is underway!”:_

“Understood, Sideswipe.” The Autobot leader turned to the gathered Autobots before him, surprised that all of them could fit inside of the orbital jump chamber. “You all know your assignments, Autobots. Good luck, all of you.” He keyed in the needed coordinates on the console before him and called, “Team Three, you’re up.” 

Loaded and ready to go, Jetfire turned to his teammates and beckoned, “Well mechs, we’re on the clock. Let’s see what this planet’s got to throw at us.” 

“Sounds like fun,” Beachcomber eagerly replied. Overhaul kept silent but gave just as eager a grin as he stepped upon the waiting platform, and the Air Defense Team swiftly joined them. 

A flash of light and the six Cybertronians were beamed away to their mission. Optimus quickly reset the jump coordinates, and nodded to Hot Shot, who beckoned his team forward. 

“So, you don’t mind being ordered around by a mech younger than you are?” Blurr asked of the third Autobot on Team Two as Jolt and Incinerator stepped onto the platform behind him. 

Crosswise gave a small laugh. “As long as I’ve been out of the loop, there are probably a lot of younger mechs who outrank me now. At least this time, I’m commanded by a mech I know.” 

Another flash of light, and Team Two was transported out of the _Ark_ , which thus left Optimus to himself. He turned and exited the transport chamber, then made his way to the forward bridge, the remaining Autobots and senior Mini-Cons waiting for him. “They’re off. Sideswipe, keep an optic on the communications lines. Red, I want you on standby to treat any wounded. I don’t expect trouble, but I don’t want to be caught unprepared.”

His two subordinates nodded and set to work as Optimus settled down at an empty console. Having silently kept his gaze upon the younger Prime since he entered, Vector Prime took this moment to quietly remark, “While I understand your concerns, I doubt you have anything to worry over. The teams will make it back safely, just as yours did long ago.”

“That assurance doesn’t stop me from worrying, old friend. So much can still go wrong. I know that I have other obligations, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to be out there with them.” Glancing at the young sedan manning communications, the red semi noted, “And I suspect I’m not the only one.”

Startled, Sideswipe turned to the two Primes and gave a nervous shrug. “Well, I do kinda wish I was out there helping them.”

The Autobot leader gave a small laugh. “Well, it’s good to know I’m not the only one. Just be careful, Sideswipe. You might just get what you wish for.” 

-

“I’m afraid I still lack an explanation behind the missing supplies, as well as the low quantities of Energon.” The Seeker gave a small bow as he stood in the command center of the _Nemesis_ and continued, “I doubt they will have major impact, as most of what is missing can be easily replicated, but I’ll continue to investigate.”

“Good.” While Megatron was less than pleased to hear this from his subordinate, he suspected that either he not yet had sufficient time to mount an investigation. Besides, there were other matters to attend to. “For now, something else requires our attention.” He gestured towards a nearby monitor, a map of the continental United States shown and small flashing lights present at three locations. “Ship’s sensors have picked up what appear to be Autobot signatures at these three points. I’ve discussed the matter with Thrust, and he surmises that they are seeking Mini-Con pods at these locations.”

That was the logical assumption, though Starscream opted to not mention that detail. “I find it unlikely that a single Autobot would go to each location. One or more of these may be decoys.” 

“Agreed, though the chance remains that these are genuine. And we cannot afford to let the Autobots increase their already considerable advantage in Mini-Cons.” He rose from his throne and ordered, “Gather the others. We will split into three teams and investigate.”

The Seeker’s optics widened slightly in surprise. “All of us? My apologies, Lord Megatron, but I think it wise that we keep a small unit here aboard the ship, in case something unforeseen occurs.” 

The tyrant looked upon his second. “Your suggestion is noted, Starscream, but ignored. We are _all_ going. Assemble the Decepticons.”

Knowing that he stood little chance of convincing him otherwise, the Seeker nodded and departed. 

-

As he trundled along on the rocky ground, Overhaul took another sensor sweep over the surrounding area. “Where is this supposed to be again?”

_:“The Sonoran Desert, southwest Arizona.”:_ Loitering high above them and hoping that nothing far below was picking him up, Jetfire kept his sensors going in all directions just in case something did register their presence. :“Nothing but harsh rocks and rugged vegetation as far as the optic can see. Can’t say I’m impressed with it, though.”:

“I dunno, boss-mech, it’s got a certain charm all its own. Not saying I’d want to live out here, but…” Beachcomber slowed and altered course slightly to avoid hitting a lizard, then sped back up once he was certain he’d missed the small reptile. “Yeah, definitely not wanting to harm the local wildlife.”

“Yeah, well, the sooner we find that pod, the sooner we don’t have to worry about running down a rat or something.” Not that he was insensitive, but the brawler found little reason to be worried over a member of a local animal species that no doubt had multiple spawn on a regular basis. His sensors went off as he approached the designated coordinates, and Overhaul called, “I’ve got a reading. Beachcomber, can you confirm?”

“Copy that. We’re practically right on top of the pod.” The large dune buggy gave a small laugh and called out, “You fly-mechs think you can pin it down?”

Flying much lower to the ground than the shuttle high above, the Air Defense Team shot past their Autobot allies with a triumphant laugh. “Just watch us!” Runway called. “Smooth flying so far! What do you guys wanna bet Hot Shot’s having a harder time than we are?”

Already starting his descent, the Autobot Vice Commander chuckled. “Yeah, well, don’t count your diodes before they flash. We’re not through yet.” 

-

Compared to their comrades on Team Three, Team Two found themselves in a far more populated area, their orbital jump having deposited them on the top floor of a parking garage in Detroit, Michigan. The fact that they were in one of the most prominent cities related to the American automobile industry was not lost on the three Autobots. “Well, we certainly lucked out, didn’t we?” That harsh comment out of the way, Hot Shot turned to his Mini-Con partner. “Jolt, you get airborne and see if you can track down the Mini-Con pod. With any luck, you’ll be able to pick up on it and we can get out without any trouble. The rest of us will keep close. I haven’t exactly heard sterling things about this city, and if it’s anything like some of the movies suggest then we’re probably in for more trouble than we’d like.” The three transformed to their vehicle modes and activated holomatter avatars. “Crosswise, take point. If anyone’s going to spot trouble coming, it’ll be you.”

“Understood, though something tells me I’ll be attracting trouble before I spot it.” The ebon Autobot had taken on the alternate mode of the Bugatti Veyron, a model of vehicle that definitely wasn’t produced in the United States. Between that, Hot Shot’s current resemblance to an Aston Martin and Blurr’s Ferrari-based alternate mode, none of them was going to remain inconspicuous. “Still, worst case scenario, we have more than enough speed to get out of trouble.”

“And that’s exactly what we do if we get into trouble with the locals, we leave as quickly as possible.” Hot Shot followed the Bugatti as he made his way out of the parking garage and elaborated, “Decepticons are another matter, but I really hope we don’t run into them while we’re out here.” 

“That’s all but a given, Hot Shot.” Incinerator plugged into one of the Powerlinx ports on his roof, Blurr brought up the rear. “And suppose we do run into them?”

“Pray that any humans nearby are sensible enough to head in the opposite direction.” The trio exited the parking garage, and coordinates flashed in Hot Shot’s GPS unit as they made their way through quiet college grounds. A few early risers marveled at the three sports cars as they went, but otherwise, they attracted little attention. “Okay, we’re on Cass Avenue, near the southern end of the Wayne State University campus. According to the coordinates from the _Exodus_ , we need to be southeast of here, in the area of the Tricentennial State Park and Harbor. Looks like Woodward Avenue should get us where we need to go without a problem.”

“Good. Let’s hope the traffic doesn’t keep us tied up.” The trio turned onto Putnam Street as Blurr continued, “The sooner we get this mission done, the better.” 

-

“What do you think they’re up to?” 

Skywarp’s optics narrowed as he considered Wheeljack’s question and zoomed in on the Autobot excavation efforts. The two, along with their Mini-Con partners and Mudflap, had beamed in quickly enough to catch notice of the first stages of excavation. “This looks a bit much for them to be digging up a Mini-Con pod. I’m not one for making wild leaps, but they might be putting in a permanent installation.”

“A base facility would make sense. They only have so many resources aboard the starship they brought here, and if they really have made an alliance with the humans, then doing this would fit standard procedure.” A curious glance from the youngest of the three mechs, and the crane elaborated, “I try to keep up with Guild policies. But now the question becomes, what do we tell Megatron?”

“Who says we need to tell him anything?” Thunderclash asked from the ground. The Mini-Con walked about as he looked over the trio and made certain he had their attention. “If he thinks they’re gone, then we won’t have a problem, now will we?”

“For once, Thunderclash, I’m glad you think that way.” The Seeker reset his optics to their normal vision settings, then transformed and collected his partner. “You all stay put. We just have to make a bunch of Autobots ‘disappear’.” 

The two land-based Decepticons watched him fly slowly towards the base entrance as Wheeljack grew curious. “What do you suppose he’s got planned?”

Mudflap recognized the sight of his old mentor even from this distance, and silently hoped that he wouldn’t have to fight him. “Whatever it is, I hope that it saves us some trouble.” 

-

Light silently poured into the escape pod as its hatch opened and the Air Defense Team entered with palmlights in hand. Jetstorm gave an appreciative laugh as he examined the hatch, glad that it still worked after all this time. “Now who says we don’t make things to last?”

“Doesn’t help that we aren’t too far down from the surface. Now where’s…” Sonar grew silent as his optics landed on the pod’s command console, the device blown apart and scorched from weapons fire. “What the frag happened here?”

Runway didn’t have an answer to his comrade’s question, but wasn’t too eager to find out. “Check the pods, make sure whatever caused this didn’t damage them.” The silver supersonic jet’s light flashed over the pods as his comrades inspected them, but found little reason to be pleased. While three were still closed and thankfully operating, the remaining three were open and vacant. “Something’s not processing here. If the Decepticons had gotten to this pod first, they would’ve grabbed everyone and split, not leave three and trash a console.” 

“And with the central console wrecked, we can’t tell who was in what pod, or who got left behind.” The blue Concorde turned to his teammate and asked, “What do we do?”

Runway’s optics swept over the remaining pods as he made his decision. “We open one of them up, but just the one until we figure out who was left behind.” As his teammates went to work, the Mini-Con radioed in. “Jetfire, we’ve got good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?”

-

“Start with the bad and work your way up.” His teammates standing guard at the drop site, Jetfire was left to keep an optic on the Mini-Cons inside. 

_:“Bad news is that the pod’s already been found by someone. Three of the stasis units inside have been opened, and the control console’s been slagged. Good news is the last three are intact, and we can get ‘em open, but that’ll take time, and we don’t know who got left behind or why. For all we know, we’ve got Megatron supporters waiting for us.”:_

The Autobot second in command shook his head. So much for an easy mission. “Any clue about who did it?”

_:“Given how smashed the console looks, I’d say someone big, mean, and pretty strong. Unfortunately, a lot of us Mini-Cons are stronger than we look, so that doesn’t narrow it down much.”:_

“We’ll start eliminating suspects back at the base. Right now, do what you can with the mechs still inside. If they’re friendlies, fine, but otherwise, do what needs to be done.” He switched off the comm.-line before turning to his subordinates. “Beachcomber, you’ve got some training in geology, right?”

“Some, but it’s hardly my specialty.” 

Pointing at the rock face before them, Jetfire queried, “You think this could’ve been disturbed before we got here?”

The blue and white dune buggy looked over the ground before them, idly prodding at the rocks with one finger. “Maybe, but if that’s the case, then whoever did it was really careful to cover their tracks. You don’t suppose Starscream got here first?”

The familiar roar of jet engines caught Overhaul’s attention, prompting him to beckon towards the east. “Here’s your chance to ask him.” 

The three watched as the red and grey Seeker slowed and transformed as he approached, then landed softly on the ground with a pleased look on his face. “Jetfire. Why am I not surprised to see you?” Giving the other Autobots a quick glance, he surmised, “Let me guess, Optimus brought in reinforcements of his own.”

“Don’t sound so shocked, Screamer. This had to happen eventually.” The space shuttle gave a small look around before asking, “You came alone?” 

The Seeker shook his head. “Demolishor’s keeping Thrust out of the way for the time being. Still, I don’t have much time. Your team as well as the other two you dispatched were picked up on our sensors. You’ve obviously found the pod, but the sooner you return to your ship and warn the others, the better.” 

The brawler crossed his arms with some disbelief. “Awful nice for you to warn us, and to leave a few Mini-Cons behind.” At Starscream’s surprised look, he realized, “You mean you didn’t reach this pod first?”

“If I had, there wouldn’t be any Mini-Cons left for you to retrieve.” Turning back to Jetfire, he reasoned, “I suspect the humans would have taken the entire pod, and seeing as the only Autobots and Decepticons small enough to enter are on Cybertron, that narrows the suspect list.” 

The Autobot tilted his head thoughtfully. “Sounds like you might have some ideas about that. Care to share with the rest of us?” 

The Seeker considered for a moment before nodding. “Spare parts and equipment have gone missing from the _Nemesis_. It’s only a guess, but I’d be surprised if this wasn’t connected.” 

Turning back to the dig site, Jetfire considered the possibilities. “Three missing Mini-Cons and some misplaced spare parts. Now what do you expect could be behind both those things?”

No one present liked the answer. 

-

“Where are they?”

Nightbeat shook his head and groaned before turning back to the red Mini-Con. “You keep on asking that as if you expect an answer! I don’t know, Roadhandler! If I did, I’d tell you!” 

“Nightbeat, calm yourself.” Gently gesturing towards his fellow Mini-Con with both arms, Comettor tried his best to keep the youngest of the trio calm. “We’re all trying to figure out what happened to the other Mini-Cons in our pod. Getting frustrated won’t do much to help in any case – let’s just be glad the backup systems kicked in and we were able to exit it without trouble, otherwise we might have been stuck at the bottom of that lake forever.”

The Mini-Con motorcycle slowly nodded before looking around at their current surroundings. “Still, I don’t suppose this is much better.”

After fishing themselves out of Lake Erie, the three Mini-Cons opted to hide themselves away inside of a seemingly abandoned waterfront warehouse, empty save for the occasional vagrant but generally undisturbed. While their current accommodations were less than pleasant, they were slightly more concerned with the three Mini-Cons they’d gone into stasis with. Not helping the situation much were their alternate modes. While Nightbeat’s motorcycle mode didn’t look too far out of place, it was noticeably small in comparison to the real thing, while Roadhandler’s dragster mode and Comettor’s lunar rover form were hardly ones capable of blending into the background. While none of them were particularly pleased about this, Comettor was least happy about their situation. He’d found himself a new world to explore, and he couldn’t even move without raising suspicion.

“Missing comrades or no, we’ve got other problems. We can’t hide out here forever. Sooner or later, we’re going to need to leave and find somewhere else to set up shop, especially with the urban renewal going on right now.” The red dragster leaned against a brick wall. “As much as I’d like to know what happened to the Speed Chasers, right now we need to worry about ourselves.”

“Yeah, but where do we go? It’s not like help’s just going to come to us.” 

As if prompted by Nightbeat’s comment, the trio’s comm.-lines suddenly went active. _:“Calling all Mini-Cons, do you read me? Calling all Mini-Cons!”:_

Holding back a laugh, Roadhandler answered, “Jolt, this is Roadhandler reading you loud and clear. Comettor and Nightbeat are with me, but we’ve lost track of the Speed Chaser Team. They must’ve gotten out of the pod and left us behind. What’s your position?”

_:“About a click away from you due east. Incinerator’s with me, along with a team of Autobots. Any injuries?”:_

“None, but the sooner you meet up with us, the better. We’re holding position.” The Mini-Con gave a triumphant laugh as he looked to his comrades. “You were saying?”

-

_:“I’ve made contact with three Mini-Cons from the pod! They’re in a disused warehouse a few blocks from the harbor! Transmitting coordinates!”:_

“Got ‘em, we’re on our way!” Glad that traffic was light this morning, Hot Shot quickly send out orders. “Jolt, head for that position and keep close! Crosswise, you’re fastest, so head for that position and collect them! We’ll meet you there!”

“Understood! Already on my way!” 

As the black Veyron increased speed and made his way through downtown Detroit, he began to feel a little more at ease. The Mini-Cons had been located, traffic hadn’t slowed them down, and aside from the odd appraising glance from passers-by, they had gone relatively unnoticed. Unfortunately, he knew full well that the universe tended to lull people into a false sense of security right as it planned to hit them with a curve ball. 

His suspicions were soon proven correct as a blast of cannon fire tore apart the road between him and the others. He kept going as Hot Shot and Blurr slowed to a halt and recognized a familiar combat helicopter as it cackled overhead before he transformed and opened fire. “Awful nice of you Autobots to lead us to the Mini-Cons, but now it’s time for us to clean up!”

With few options available to them, Finding themselves with few options, Hot Shot and Blurr shifted course and hung a left on Larned Street, their way being cleared as other drivers moved out of Cyclonus’ path. “Change of plans! Crosswise, meet up with us at Central Park! We’ll try to keep the Decepticons off your back! Blurr, you think you can get some altitude?”

“Already on my way up!” Without a second’s hesitation, Blurr shifted into flight mode and took to the skies. 

That act drew Cyclonus’ attention away from his partner, but even with one Decepticon distracted, Hot Shot soon had a second one to deal with as Megatron thundered forward into his path, his turret pointing northwest as he traversed Randolph Street and slowly turned to bear down upon the yellow Autobot sports car. He fired one salvo, then another, and Hot Shot swerved to avoid the first but was ultimately forced to briefly transform to avoid the second and jump over the Decepticon leader before continuing on his way through a tunnel. 

Undaunted, Megatron followed. “Thundercracker, deal with the last one and make certain those Mini-Cons are captured! We will address the stragglers!”

High above, the blue Seeker shifted course. “Understood, tracking now!” 

With the Decepticon leader in pursuit of him through the tunnel, Hot Shot found himself hoping that his speed would be enough to help win the day. He was not looking forward to going back to the _Ark_ from his first command assignment with nothing to show for it.

-

Building a facility underground or within a mountain is easy enough, provided you have the needed tools. You clear out the space you need for your primary entrances, building supports as you go, and then complete your central chamber before digging out additional entrances and exits. So long as you had enough supports for the job at hand and the necessary equipment, the hardest part was simply digging out the needed space. Afterwards, building your facility was easy. 

Much to Ironhide’s pleasure, excavation was thus far proceeding smoothly. Hoist was digging within the entry tunnel, slowly widening and lengthening it over time, with Refute assisting and Dune Runner keeping the tunnel walls as even as possible. Meanwhile Scavenger, assisted by the rest of the Adventure Team and Rollbar, was hauling away debris for analysis. Any iron ore recovered could be converted into steel for the construction of support units and walls within the base itself. While the walls were fairly solid, Ironhide wasn’t about to take any chances as Landmine set up the first of many central braces along the tunnel. As the Autobots had everything well in hand, their human ally had departed for nearby Fort Carson to see about building materials for when they were needed. “Remember, a support brace every fifty yards, and at six hundred we start digging out the main structure!” 

“We remember, Ironhide!” Hoist called back from within the entry tunnel, now about seventy yards deep. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this in the bag!” 

Despite the loud roar of digging and earthmoving, Ironhide still managed to pick out the sounds of jet engines. He rushed out of the tunnel to find Scavenger waiting outside, his gaze on the sky as Skywarp landed and shifted to robot mode, arms raised and hands wide open. “Easy mechs, I come in peace.” Glancing over the work thus far at their canyon entrance, he noted, “Not bad, but I think you mechs might not have thought everything through. We managed to pick you up from the ship. Pure chance, mind you, and that’ll end the deeper you go, but right now, you’re easy to spot.” 

Before the young architect could give out a frustrated groan, the old bulldozer raised a hand and stopped him. “The warning’s appreciated. Any suggestions for when we’ll inevitably have to stop work?” 

“Just this little gadget.” He tossed a small device to Scavenger and explained, “Long-range signal dampener. These should block the Nemesis from picking up on you while you’re out here, and I’ll bet you can replicate them easily enough. Won’t stop you from being seen with visual sensors and it eats power like you wouldn’t believe, but last I heard you mechs had slightly more of a reserve than we do.”

Scavenger examined the device, and suddenly found himself with a better idea of how so many of Megatron’s forces had kept from being captured over the ages. “Appreciate it, but won’t this be missed?”

“Believe it or not, we’ve been losing supplies left and right. I don’t think that’ll happen right away.” The purple and black Seeker kicked on his engines and rose into the air. “By the way, Scavenger?! Next chance you get, let Landmine know that Mudflap sends his regards!” He then transformed and flew off. 

Ironhide turned to his superior as he examined the device. “So, what was all that about?” 

“Repaying an old favor, and helping out a friend.” The old Autobot stored away the dampener and strode back into the tunnel. “We’ll get that back to the Ark, give Red a chance to look it over and replicate it. With luck, that’ll help keep the Decepticons off our back. Right now, however, we’ve still got digging to do.”

-

Optics slowly came online as a familiar voice asked, “You think he’s online?”

A blurry picture focused slowly and adjusted to the dim light as a second voice spoke. “Should be.”

The Mini-Con’s optic shutters blinked as he recognized the pair. “Runway? Jetstorm? What are you doing here?”

“It’s a long story, Tankor.” Relief clear in his voice, the jet stepped back to allow the Sky Defense Team member to exit the stasis pod. “We’ll catch up on the details once we’re done here, but the short version is we got woken up and the ‘Bots came for us.”

“With Megatron swiftly following, I’d assume.” The orange Mini-Con shook his head with dismay. Despite his heavy armaments, he was a mech of peace first and foremost, and disliked fighting unless necessary. “Steamhammer and Thunderblast, how are they?”

“We haven’t woken them up yet, wanted to make sure you were online before we did the same with anyone else.” Gesturing towards the open pods, Jetstorm elaborated further. “Thing was, we didn’t know who was left in here for us to wake up. Think you can shed some light on that?”

“Those three pods were already occupied when we heard the call to abandon ship. I don’t know who exactly was resting in them, but there was only one reason for a Mini-Con team to be in stasis before we left the ship.” 

The blue Concorde shook his head. “Megatron supporters. Perfect. Whoever dug them out is gonna be trouble before too long.” 

“We’ll deal with them when the time comes.” Runway quickly reactivated his comm.-line. “Jetfire, more news. The team left in the pod is the Sky Defense Team. We’ve got Tankor online now, and his teammates should be out of their pods in two nano-kliks.”

_:“Glad to hear it. As soon as you’ve got them online, we’re heading back to base, but don’t be surprised if we need to charge off to someone else’s rescue.”:_

“Roger that, big mech.” Closing the line, he turned to his fellow Mini-Con. “You gonna be okay?”

“I’ll feel a lot better once my team is back online and among friends.” The twin-missile tank walked towards one unopened pod as Sonar continued working on its mate. “And the sooner that’s done, the better we’ll all be.”

-

“One pathetic little Autobot, all alone against impossible odds! Why bother running? The end is inevitable!” Salvos from his cannon punctuated his sentences as Megatron transformed into robot mode and stepped off hard concrete pavement and onto exposed earth. By some horrible miracle, he had managed to keep pace with Hot Shot as he turned off and reached Detroit’s Central Park. He looked about the landscape and took note of the fleeing humans with a satisfied laugh. “If you expected to escape me here, you were sadly mistaken!”

“Who said anything about escaping?!” Hot Shot transformed himself and drew his rifle. He landed a few quick shots and dodged additional bursts from Megatron as he went. “You haven’t changed much, but I’m another matter!”

“Yes! You’re even more foolhardy than before!” Leader-1 linked up on his right arm and the Decepticon tyrant opened fire. He barely missed the Autobot and left blasted chunks of dirt in his wake. “No Skyboom Shield to save you today, Autobot! What do you have to save you this time?!”

An explosion sounding overhead prompted the young Autobot to smile. “A little help from my friends!”

Cyclonus’ familiar cries flooded his audio receptors, and Megatron turned just in time to step back as his subordinate transformed and crashed at his feet. As Blurr transformed and landed opposite, the berserker remarked, “That Autobot’s gotten a lot better at…!”

The Decepticon leader kicked his subordinate aside before he aimed his fusion cannon and fired. Neither Autobot was directly hit, but they were caught in the weapon’s energy burst enough to be knocked to the ground. He then strode forward as Cyclonus got to his feet and followed, then grabbed Hot Shot by the neck with his left hand and lifted him up. “It’s almost a pity that Wheeljack didn’t finish you off, Hot Shot, but it seems I’ll have to finish the job.” 

An engine revved in the distance, the sound growing louder as it approached and prompting Cyclonus to turn and seek out its source. “Uh, boss? That third Autobot is…”

Megatron turned his head just in time to catch sight of Crosswise, traveling far in excess of the speed limit, transform and open fire with his plasma caster. His salvos tore into the tyrant’s face before he himself crashed into Cyclonus and sent him skidding along the ground. The berserker was left unconscious while Megatron released his prisoner to regard the new arrival. “Crosswise. Not many Autobots can attest to getting the drop on me, and even fewer can attest to having infuriated me as you have. I lost the Eclipse Team thanks to you, Monster Hunter.”

Twin barrels extending out from his back flipped down beneath the ebon Autobot’s arms as he fired twin grappling lines at the Decepticon leader. Both made contact, and a massive electrical surge shot through them and into the larger Cybertronian and caused him to cry out in pain before he collapsed into a heap. His lines retracted, and Crosswise stored his weapon, returning his grapplers to their original positions. “And I won’t lose anything else thanks to you, monster.” He strode past the Decepticon leader as his partners collected themselves. “Did I miss anything?”

Hot Shot managed a laugh. “Your timing was perfect.” 

“I don’t know, he could’ve arrived a little sooner. The fewer bent fenders, the better.”

Incinerator laughed at his partner’s comment before looking up at the Veyron. “Did you find the others?”

“See for yourself.” Crosswise turned skyward as Thundercracker flew in from above, the three Mini-Cons disconnecting as he landed and transformed. As Jolt arrived and joined them, the hunter explained, “They just needed a lift, is all.”

As his two associates collected their bearings, Roadhandler looked up towards Hot Shot and offered a hand. “Hot Shot, is it? I’m Roadhandler. Jolt was kind enough to fill us in on the details. Thank you for coming after us.”

“Hey, it’s what I’m here for.” Looking over the trio, the yellow and blue mech looked over them and asked, “What happened to the others?”

“We’ll find them, given enough time.” The red Mini-Con dragster turned about and regarded the Decepticon among them. “Thanks.”

“Hey, I’m just paying back an old favor.” Thundercracker gave a curt nod to Crosswise before keying in a signal to the Nemesis. “Megatron and Cyclonus should be laid up for the next few days. That’ll give you more than enough time to make sure a few pods have been dealt with. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Hot Shot replied as the Decepticon and his unconscious allies were transported away. With Thundercracker’s departure, he activated a comm.-line. “ _Ark_ , this is Team Two; mission successful, requesting recall.”

_:“Understood, Team Two. Beam-out in two nano-kliks.”:_ Sideswipe replied from the other end. 

As the group gathered close so as to present an easier target, Crosswise turned to the young commander and asked, “So, how do you rate this first mission?” 

“We didn’t find all six, but we found some of them.” Turning to the Veyron with a pleased smile, he added, “And we’re making it back in one piece. No matter how you call it, that’s a victory.”

The monster hunter smiled at the young leader as they disappeared from the area, local law enforcement arriving just as they disappeared. From one particularly battered-looking subcompact emerged a tall man with thinning blonde hair and beefy arms, a megaphone in one hand. “Alright, I want this whole place cordoned off! This section of the park is closed! No one gets in or out!” His men going to work, the cop huffed, frustrated at being unable to send in his crime scene techs. All kinds of chaos break out in his city, and all he gets is a shut up and wait from Homeland Security. This was why he hated working with the Feds. 

-

“Here again.” Skywarp strode up to his fellow Seeker while surveying the unconscious forms of Megatron and Cyclonus. The CR chambers were doing their work, but it was slow, something neither of them complained about. “So, the Autobots are getting aggressive about chasing down Mini-Cons, they’re building a base, and we’re stuck up here with someone swiping our spare parts. Aren’t we lucky?”

“More like unlucky.” At his comrade’s quirked optic ridge, Starscream turned to elaborate. “The two pods that the Autobots were working on were missing half their respective compliments of Mini-Cons. One had a smashed console. Now who besides they and us would have an interest in chasing down Mini-Cons, and could even begin to make use of those spare parts?”

The stealthy Seeker tipped his head. “You’re thinking Dualor has something to do with this, don’t you?” 

“Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains is the truth.” The red and grey Seeker crossed his arms. “I can’t prove it, however, and I suspect he’s prepared something in case his plan is discovered.”

“Well, why not take away his major reason to mobilize?” Skywarp gestured towards the chambers before them. “I know you don’t like the idea, Screamer, but there’s nothing stopping you from rigging the chamber so that it malfunctions. You could even make it look like an accident.”

Starscream shook his head. “I’ve considered it, but I’d rather be fighting a living tyrant than a dead martyr. Until Megatron has lost his support among our people and we can afford to have him gone, he has to remain. Hopefully him being here rather than on Cybertron will aid that.” The two made their way out of the chamber as he changed the subject. “By the way, it was nice of you to loan the Autobots one of your signal dampeners.”

The stealthy Seeker shrugged. “They needed it more than I did. And considering the fact that they aren’t on our scopes anymore, either they decided to build elsewhere or they got the field powered. Either way, good for them.”

“Let’s just hope that they’re able to finish that base of theirs without incident. I’d rather not have something else go wrong.” A thought occurring to him, Starscream wondered aloud, “Meanwhile, I think I have an idea about how we can turn whatever Dualor’s planning to our advantage.”

Skywarp’s optics widened eagerly. “You have my attention.”

-

The holoprojector in the _Ark_ ’s forward bridge shut down as Optimus looked to the gathered Mini-Cons. “And that’s the situation as it stands.” 

“All this destruction, all this chaos, because of our coming to this planet.” Steamhammer shook his head as he finished processing what he had learned. What little he’d seen of this planet told him that it was valuable, and worth protecting. He turned to the Autobot leader and declared, “My team will help however it can, Optimus. You have my word.”

The other Mini-Cons gave notes of agreement, leading the red semi to give a thankful nod. “Thank you, my friends. Any help you can give, we’ll appreciate. For now, however, you’d best recharge. Our fight might be far from over, but you’ve all had quite the day.” The Mini-Cons exited the bridge, chattering amongst themselves as Optimus looked towards Jetfire and Hot Shot. “Scavenger and Ironhide report that base construction is going smoothly. They had a brief visit from Skywarp, but little beyond that.”

“Sounds like they lucked out compared to the rest of us.” Hot Shot’s injuries didn’t quite merit an immediate visit to the CR chamber, but he would still be seeing treatment before the day was out. “Lucky for all of us. I don’t think we need to go through the hassle of selecting another base site.”

“Yeah, but something still bugs me about all this. We found two half-empty pods that the Decepticons hadn’t even touched. Odds are we’re dealing with someone working behind the scenes.” Jetfire turned to his commander and asked, “You don’t think Unicron’s connected?”

Optimus shook his head. “The Destruction Team’s been active, and I don’t see Dualor having much fondness for either faction. Nevertheless, he’s on the moon with the Decepticons. Starscream will keep an optic on him. Right now, I think you two could stand a rest cycle. you’ve had a busy time in the last few hours, and there’s still mission reports to fill out.”

“The burdens of command.” Jetfire gave the younger of the three mechs a playful nudge. “If you ever wondered why we liked being in the field more than we did behind a desk, well, now you know. And I don’t think I need to finish that cliché.” 

Hot Shot laughed. “No sir.” He gave a salute, and saw himself out. 

Optimus smiled beneath his mouthplate. “Six Mini-Cons missing, but six found, and the foundations for a base beginning to be laid. And the best part is, everyone’s made it back in one piece.”

“A good day if I’ve ever seen one.” Jetfire followed Hot Shot out before calling back, “Let’s hope they stick around for a while.”

The hatch closed behind the Autobot second-in-command, leaving the leader to himself. He turned about and reactivated the holoprojector, going over the day’s missions. “That’s all any of us can do.”

The End


End file.
